Improvement in fire-escape ladders



C C', which coiled on the reel L time am,

iMeeovEMem-in Faas-Escape Laeoeae.

' Specntication forming part of Letters Patent No. gdi, dated July 5, isti.

To all whom 'it may concern l v `Be it known that I, WILLIAMH. Parce, of Springfield, in the county of .Hampden and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have in vented a new" and Improved Means of Escape from urning Buildings; and Ido here by declare-that the following isa full, clear, and exact description of the same.

The object of my invention is two-fold first, to produce a combination of' mechanism eapableoi' being reduced to a compact form convenient for transportation, and which also may be very quickly extended, so as to form a means of escape from the highest buildings second, so to arrange certain parts of said, mechanism that when `extended partially or entirely it shall be perfectly reliable and safe.

4As the desirableness of a good fire-escape is so well known and so many have been invented,` l will notvdtvell on that point, but proceed at once to explain my arrangement.

In the drawings making apart of this specificntion, Figure l is a side elevation, Fig; 2 a' front elevation, Fig. 3 a-,vertical section, and Fig. a a detail View, ot ladder, showing the trussrnore plainly.

A. is a frame to support the mechanism, and which for convenience o i' transportation would be mounted on Wheels. Bl is an upright trame hinged to A. at a., and supported in a position nearly or entirely perpendicular by the bars are attached to the lever Dby ineens 'of which the frame B may be inclined more or less from-a perpendicular position. E is a roller provided with the cranks b c and gears d c, and having bearings in the frame B. F is another roll, connected with the roll E by the gears j' g. G- H are two guide-rolls having bearings in the frame B above E and l?. l is a reel supported by `bearings in the frame A. K K are two conical pulleys, provided each with a spiral groove of a peculiar Aconstruction for receiving a chain. L L are drums on the ends `of roll E. M is another drum, in the center oi' and forming a part of E. N isa ladder `formed of sections of vari-.- `able lengths hinged together, and which is Now, it is evident that the ladder being composed of rigid sections, itmust Ycoil onto the reel .in the form of a polygomand in order to make it coil compactly the lengths must gradually increase j ust in proportion as the size of' the polygon is vincreased by 'the add Vto make the ladder selfsprings attached to fram down, release the chain ition of each succeeding so that the joints of the lad` e with radial linesfrom the through each corneror angle coil of the ladder, `dcr shall v-eoineid center ofthe reel or" the original polygonal prism forming the body of the reel.

`From the reel the ladder passes between the rolls E F and G H into a position more or less perpendioular according to the inclination of thefraine l5. Attached to the reel and soiling with the ladder are the' two chains k lf', Mas the ladder is carried up by the rotation of the rolls lill?.Y Now,

bec( me rigid,.S o as supporting. This I accomplish as follows: Each joint is provided with a slide-bolt, m, which is heldin Whatever position it is placed' by friction. n n" are two e B, and which catch and slide themv down frame-B the joints must on the heads of bolts m into place, so as to lock the lengths together suticiently firm to render the ladder self-snp porting, the bolt for each joiutbcing operatedf upon as it passes up past the springs. In the same Way the joints are unlocked as the ladder passes down past the order to give the ladder sufficient strength to 'make it perfectly safe and reliable, it is vprovided With a truss constructed as (more clearly seen in Fig. 4, but represented in the vother viewst) o o are swinging bows or standards, to which is attached a chain, p. When the ladder has been run up suiieiently high, `(in which position it is se means ofthe chains 7J Zt', attached to drum M, and the pawl r falling between the teeth of the gear f,) the lehain. p is drawn down taut and confined to the h ok s in the top ci frame B, thereby swinging he standards o o o into a position perpendicular to the ladder, and forming a perfect truss, as seen in Figs. l and 4. When it is desirabl springs. Now, in

spring t' at the toplcontracts, and, drawing upA the chain, swings all the standards o o o into a position parallel to'theladder, yso that the.v ladder is then ready to becoiled'up again ou the reel; but in order to vaccomplish that the reel must have a motion variable with relation to the roll F and drum M-i' e., when the reel is empty it must turn. faster relativelyv to the motion' ot the rolls,

which .are coiled on the drum of course, as the lad.- derv passes up through the rolls and leaves the follows,

curely held by' e torun the ladder `p from hooks, and the in order to-coil up thelad der as fast as it passes through the rolls (or, what is the same thing, as fast as the chains k k( are uncoiled,) whereas when the ladder has been coiled on and the effective size increased thel rotary speed ot' reel should decrease relatively to the motion of the rolls. To accomplish this result, I provide the reel with t-he conical pulleys K vK', having` each a spiral groove, u u u, to receive the chain 'no' from drums L L. The spiral groove u u is so formed as to progress from the center of the reel just-in proportion as theeiective size of the reel is increased by the coils of the ladder. Thus, when the drum M rotates so as to uncoil the chains lc 7c the reel receives a corresponding motion through the chains o o and pulleys K K suflicient to keep the ladder coiled up. The frame B is hinged to A at a, so that the ladder having been run up it may be inl clined to a certain ex'tentto-reach the Walls of the building. i

Now, having* lfully'described the construc- 1 tion and operation of my invention, what l claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The hinged ladder N, having its several sections of unequal lengths, when said inequalit)v is graduated as herein described, in

combination with reel I and other suitable.

W. n. m lon,

Witnesses:

ALONZO BALLon, MILTON BRADLEY. 

